Nikon Coolpix L15 Review

The Nikon Coolpix L15 is an 8 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. This is one of the simplest cameras I have tested for some time. This ease of use is one of the main selling points of the camera. Although the Coolpix L15 is small and compact it is on the large side to fit into a pocket. It is available in black and silver. This is also one of the few more basic cameras to offer image stabilisation.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
Well I am off to a poor start. I cannot tell if the problems are caused by the glare of the sun or the Coolpix L15 simply has a problem with brighter colours, but this photo is bad news. Almost all the detail on the boats and under the roof of the building has been lost. Focusing in other areas is only average.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
In this photo the opposite problem arises to the first photo. The photo is darker than I would like to see. This is especially true in the corners of the shot. Focusing is only average again.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
This is a better effort, but lighter areas again cause a problem for the Coolpix L15.

Outdoor Portrait
When turning on the one touch portrait mode I lost access to the white balance setting. The result is a photo that is sharp enough in terms of focus but dull and washed out when it comes to colours.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
Moving indoors and I am still not happy. The flash does not provide a great deal of brightness and the photo is darker than I would like to see.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
Without the flash on, the Coolpix L15 increases the ISO setting. This leads to higher noise levels in the photo and a loss of definition. The photo therefore takes on a fuzzy effect.

Colours
Ah, something I am happy with! The colours have a natural feel to them and are about right in terms of power.

Macro
This is one of the poorest macro shots I have taken in a long time. The Coolpix L15 is unable to focus from closer than 15cm. This means my macro test shot has been heavily cropped. Even so I struggled to get the camera to focus properly.

Overall
The Nikon Coolpix L15 has been a big disappointment to me. The picture quality is just not what I would expect from a Nikon digital camera.

I was able to take a single photo in 0.47 seconds and five in 24.78 seconds. With flash turned on the times were 1.65 seconds for a single photo and 35.48 seconds for five. These are all very disappointing times.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

In terms of design the Coolpix L15 is a pleasant looking compact camera. It has a raised area on the front to help you get a good grip when taking a photo. It is available in black and silver.

91 x 61 x 29.5mm

125g

2 AA batteries. Nikon estimate that a standard pair of alkaline batteries should be able to take 160 shots.

23mb of storage have been built into the camera. I was able to take 11 shots before the memory was full. It is also compatible with SD cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards.

Very Good. One of the reasons it is so easy to use is because of the relatively few features the camera has. The layout is well thought though and the menus are easy to read.

Ease of use

Picture quality - shutter lag

If you are looking for a digital camera that is very easy to use and does not cost the earth then a better bet is the Panasonic DMC LS75. You may also like to take a look at the Canon Powershot A560.

The Nikon Coolpix L15 has proved to be a big disappointment to me. I expect more from Nikon, but in terms of picture quality and also shutter lag this camera has not performed very well.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Nikon Coolpix L15